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Post by johnsilver52 on Jul 3, 2013 23:41:40 GMT -5
"(2) Can he tone down his aggressive approach?"
Think point #2 has been solved so far, at least at the MLB level this year for Iglesias. He has ceased swinging at off speed pitches away and out of the K-zone, something he had a nasty habit of doing last year and even earlier this year at Pawtucket. Is it just being on the big league team, or maturity? Good one, but he's getting better there.
He is still having trouble with off speed on the inner third, as in can't pull the trigger and pulls away, but his selection on what to swing at has gotten much better. He is (to me) one of the more selective guys and knows how to foul off tough pitches and get what he wants.
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Post by jmei on Jul 4, 2013 0:11:41 GMT -5
By the way, this is a really good article and shouldn't get lost in the shuffle. Lots of interesting tidbits, including this:
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Post by thegoodthebadthesox on Jul 4, 2013 0:21:04 GMT -5
Just kind of a random non-Iglesias tidbit from that, Andrew Miller ran a 6.4 40 in college? That's pretty crazy for his height, I wonder if he played basketball in high school too.
The real takeaway I got from that article is that Jose has his own approach now, which is a great sign. If he can hit consistently well enough to support his defense and has that kind of career I don't think anyone would complain seeing as Vizquel should make the HOF.
EDIT: I should probably elaborate about the part about Iglesias having a Vizquel-type career. I'm not saying that the likely scenario is Iglesias becoming a .272 hitter, but I definitely think given his hand-eye coordination that he could achieve that, maybe even a tad higher. I don't think Iggy will have as many steals as Omar, but the hitting abilities seem very similar. If Iggy hits .272 over a career I think the Sox would be smart to keep him.
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Post by johnsilver52 on Jul 4, 2013 0:38:53 GMT -5
By the way, this is a really good article and shouldn't get lost in the shuffle. Lots of interesting tidbits, including this: Outstanding story. Had to say thanks.
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Post by bighead on Jul 4, 2013 8:26:56 GMT -5
I hope, hope that when this kids cools off he can settle into a slash line that is not a huge disappointment compared to what he is doing now.
Tough to project since he is seemingly not the same player he was in the minors but anybody have some realistic guesses or best case/worse case scenarios?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 4, 2013 8:28:49 GMT -5
When the Sox drafted him, he hit around .285 in his first year in the minors. Then the Sox shot him up the ladder and obviously he wasn't prepared or ready for it and his numbers suffered. Is it possible that those numbers really don't represent his true abilities? He hit like crap at Pawtucket, but is it possible that he was pouting like crazy and basically throwing ABs away? Again things that skew numbers. It's an appealing narrative, but his benching this year is the first anyone has ever heard about Iglesias not playing with 100% effort. In fact, there are a bunch of articles extolling his hustle and team-first attitude: espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/19361/soxprospects-iglesias-coming-on-strongpawsoxblog.com/2011/06/30/hustle-wild-pitch-lead-to-pawsox-victory/If that's the case then why was he benched a few days? Why was there talk about Aceves being in his ear and fanning the flames? He obviously felt he was being slighted (whether he actually was would be a far different debate. My point was that he didn't necessarily have a clear head when he was batting and he most likely (and immaturely) probably bringing his frustrations to the plate with him and in essence throwing away atbats.
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Post by brianthetaoist on Jul 4, 2013 8:44:16 GMT -5
Jose Iglesias may have the best arm I've ever seen. I've seen guys who threw harder, but Iglesias's ability to make strong, accurate throws from almost any arm angle and do so incredibly quickly is something I just don't know I've seen at that level before.
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Post by soxfan06 on Jul 4, 2013 9:45:40 GMT -5
I find it pretty funny that everyone and their mother wants to put Puig in the ASG for his short hot streak, yet no one even considers Iggy.
Crazy was a couple HRs can do.
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Post by semperfisox on Jul 4, 2013 9:46:23 GMT -5
Bogaerts will be a bigger super star than Puig.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jul 4, 2013 10:11:58 GMT -5
I find it pretty funny that everyone and their mother wants to put Puig in the ASG for his short hot streak, yet no one even considers Iggy. Crazy was a couple HRs can do. Pfft. Philistines. They don't appreciate the subtle beauty of bunts and infield bleeders.
Seriously, this is as homerific a comment as I've seen in a long time.
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Post by soxfan06 on Jul 4, 2013 10:23:11 GMT -5
I find it pretty funny that everyone and their mother wants to put Puig in the ASG for his short hot streak, yet no one even considers Iggy. Crazy was a couple HRs can do. Pfft. Philistines. They don't appreciate the subtle beauty of bunts and infield bleeders.
Seriously, this is as homerific a comment as I've seen in a long time. Not really. Easily could be the backup shortshop in the AL behind Peralta.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jul 4, 2013 10:38:28 GMT -5
Dude, no. No one with 150 good PAs in their entire life should be on the all-star team. And I apply that to Puig too, but it's really pretty obvious why he's got the bandwagon and Iggy doesn't.
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Post by jmei on Jul 4, 2013 11:17:26 GMT -5
If that's the case then why was he benched a few days? Why was there talk about Aceves being in his ear and fanning the flames? He obviously felt he was being slighted (whether he actually was would be a far different debate. My point was that he didn't necessarily have a clear head when he was batting and he most likely (and immaturely) probably bringing his frustrations to the plate with him and in essence throwing away atbats. That might have been true at one point this year, but he still had close to 800 PAs in AAA the last two years with below-average BABIPs and zero reports of pouting or being bored or whatever.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 4, 2013 12:11:26 GMT -5
If that's the case then why was he benched a few days? Why was there talk about Aceves being in his ear and fanning the flames? He obviously felt he was being slighted (whether he actually was would be a far different debate. My point was that he didn't necessarily have a clear head when he was batting and he most likely (and immaturely) probably bringing his frustrations to the plate with him and in essence throwing away atbats. That might have been true at one point this year, but he still had close to 800 PAs in AAA the last two years with below-average BABIPs and zero reports of pouting or being bored or whatever. True, but his plate approach has changed somewhat from the past? No? Wasn't he using everybody else's batting stance except his own? And wasn't he rushed kind of aggressively? I think he hit .285 that first year on pure ability alone and very little clue about plate approach, something he has been learning about after what in retrospect should have resulted in the bad numbers he's put up. Then he worked diligently with Pedroia this offseason to work on his offensive approach. He'll never threaten for a batting title, but I believe there is reasonable cause to think that this guy is not a lost cause automatic out at the plate. I know Gammons can be a bit full of hot air at times. but I thought his article about Ilesias was quite interesting.
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Post by awall on Jul 4, 2013 13:50:48 GMT -5
I want to watch him play ss here every day for the next 5-6 years.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jul 4, 2013 14:25:56 GMT -5
Pfft. Philistines. They don't appreciate the subtle beauty of bunts and infield bleeders.
Seriously, this is as homerific a comment as I've seen in a long time. Not really. Easily could be the backup shortshop in the AL behind Peralta. A couple of home runs? Dude, Puig's slugging almost .750. As for Iglesias vs. AL shortstops, the first problem is that Hardy is probably going to start. Peralta is going to get one bench spot and I doubt they'll add a third - it's a weak year for AL shortstops. And even at that, Iglesias has played all of 16 games at short this year. But mainly, it's the fact that no player should make the ASG with as few at-bats as Iglesias has.
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Post by ray88h66 on Jul 4, 2013 14:51:30 GMT -5
Whatever side you are on in the Iggy debate. I hope folks can at least step back and enjoy this amazing run.
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Post by soxfan06 on Jul 4, 2013 20:12:44 GMT -5
Not really. Easily could be the backup shortshop in the AL behind Peralta. A couple of home runs? Dude, Puig's slugging almost .750. As for Iglesias vs. AL shortstops, the first problem is that Hardy is probably going to start. Peralta is going to get one bench spot and I doubt they'll add a third - it's a weak year for AL shortstops. And even at that, Iglesias has played all of 16 games at short this year. But mainly, it's the fact that no player should make the ASG with as few at-bats as Iglesias has. I agree. I think it would be a pathetic joke if Puig made it. The point I was trying to make was that if people were making a case for Puig, there is EASILY a case for Iglesias.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jul 6, 2013 17:14:00 GMT -5
Hey, remember when Josh Reddick had that great half a season last year and posted great K/BB numbers, fixed his approach, etc?
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Post by burythehammer on Jul 6, 2013 18:11:46 GMT -5
The point I was trying to make was that if people were making a case for Puig, there is EASILY a case for Iglesias. No, there isn't, for one very simple reason. Everyone wants to see Puig play. Nobody outside of Red Sox fans cares about Jose Iglesias. And yes I know he has the ability to make the most exciting play in any game he plays in, but you know what I mean. Why do people treat the All-Star game like it's this sacred, cherished event? It's Disney World. It's like complaining that Michael Bay movies are shallow.
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Post by ancientsoxfogey on Jul 7, 2013 7:04:40 GMT -5
Whatever side you are on in the Iggy debate. I hope folks can at least step back and enjoy this amazing run. Yes, it took 160 PA for Iggy's BA to fall below the Williams line. Now let's see where he goes from here. Cooling off and slumps are inevitable. For everyone. The key is how many hits he can stick in even during the tough times. He has tools available (quick swing, speed to first to beat out weak grounders) to be able to do that.
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Post by soxfan06 on Jul 7, 2013 18:30:51 GMT -5
The point I was trying to make was that if people were making a case for Puig, there is EASILY a case for Iglesias. No, there isn't, for one very simple reason. Everyone wants to see Puig play. Nobody outside of Red Sox fans cares about Jose Iglesias. And yes I know he has the ability to make the most exciting play in any game he plays in, but you know what I mean. Why do people treat the All-Star game like it's this sacred, cherished event? It's Disney World. It's like complaining that Michael Bay movies are shallow. For the record, everyone doesn't want to see Puig play. I honestly don't care one iota about the kid. Congrats he is on a solid hot streak to start his career. Interesting.
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Post by iakovos11 on Jul 7, 2013 20:34:14 GMT -5
For the record, everyone doesn't want to see Puig play. I honestly don't care one iota about the kid. Congrats he is on a solid hot streak to start his career. Interesting. Homerism 101. Yeah, and Iglesias isn't on a solid hot streak to start his career - his numbers are legit.
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Post by jimed14 on Jul 11, 2013 16:13:47 GMT -5
Iggy has slumped in July. He's only hitting .303 for the month as of now (1 for 2 in 4th inning).
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jul 11, 2013 16:50:02 GMT -5
Hey, remember when Brett Lawrie had 171 really good plate appearances for the Blue Jays a couple years back? Young player, better minor league track record than Iglesias, solid K/BB numbers (I read on Fangraphs that those stabilize really fast)... how's that working out?
I swear, I'm going to make this point if it kills me.
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